“Our blood is blue, and we have?—.”
Sawyer blinked, repeated that sentence in his head a few times, then blinked again, looking at all of them in turn. “S-say what now? Blue blood?”
Kellan gave him a patient smile. “Human blood is high in iron, hence the red colour. Ours is higher in copper. It aids us with cold water. And we have three hearts.”
Three... three fucking hearts.
Sawyer looked at Ciaran, and he nodded. “It is true. We can regulate our body temperature, and in freeform, each heart has a specific function.”
“In human form too,” Fray said. “One for circulation, one for stamina, and one supplies blood to our dicks, so there is minimal downtime and optimal go-time.”
Some of them chuckled, Otis gave Fray a fist bump, Kellan sighed, and Ciaran smirked.
“Is that true?” Sawyer whispered.
Ciaran’s eyes met his and he gave a nod. “More or less.”
“Fuck.” Sawyer’s head was starting to throb, but he addedthatpart of this Q&A to his to-be-addressed-later list.
“Uh, more questions,” he mumbled. “So you guys are like octopuses, but you’re not octopuses... or octopi...”
“Octopuses is the correct term,” Tobin said flatly, not amused.
Was he pissed at Sawyer for some reason? Because with his arms crossed and an unimpressed expression on his face, he certainly didn’t look happy. More like he’d rather be anywhere else but in this room.
In an attempt to get this over with, Sawyer tried to focus, tried to remember what he knew about octopuses. “Uh, so you’re like octopuses, but you’re not in the same biological family as octopus.” He looked to Ciaran for clarification.
“Correct,” Ciaran replied. “Not unlike how humans evolved from primates, but primates still exist.”
Sawyer nodded slowly, trying to get his head around the evolutionary implications without much success.
“So there are different kinds of cephamorphs the same way there are different species of octopus,” Sawyer said, and Ciaran nodded. “So you and Hendrix are the same type of cephamorph, hence thecousinthing.”
“Correct.”
Sawyer put his hand to his forehead. “Sorry, guys. I’m just trying to understand...”
“You’re fine,” Ciaran said gently.
Sawyer gave him a smile, then continued with his questions. “And octopuses are really smart, right? Like the one that escaped from that zoo. Or through that tiny hole on that fishing boat. Were those cephamorphs or actual octopuses?”
“Octopuses,” Ciaran said.
“And the octopus that was caught on camera punching fish?”
They all burst out laughing, and Fray and Otis bumped fists again. Kellan chuckled, and the three guys on the cot all laughed, but Ciaran’s shoulders shook as he laughed, and he looked at Fray with such fondness.
Sawyer’s whole chest bloomed with warmth. He felt pure joy at seeing Ciaran happy.
Sawyer decided right then and there to make it his life’s mission to see Ciaran happy, to see him smile and hear him laugh.
It was like nothing else mattered.
He felt eyes on him and turned to find Tobin watching him, a displeased look on his face.
What the hell was that about?
Was he jealous? Did he have a thing for Ciaran?
